Where I live we are going through a debate about governance. How much is too much, is the current system working as well as it should, what are the options for change and do we have the right people in place to manage any change?
These questions are exactly the same questions being asked of politicians in Russia, DRC, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and every other country to be honest. There is another factor to consider though, which is the trust we have for debate to be handled with great skill. Do we have people that will say damaging remarks, even if it the remarks are true? Then, after the damage is done still feels justified in their actions? A person that acts in such a manner has no real understanding of peace.
Peace is about respect for the other. Knowing how your actions will impact and managing the information you want to get across. In the case of Syria, the government is actively killing its people. What is the message there? The opposition party in DRC made note that violence was going to happen no matter what the result were. In Russia, there are demonstrations about fraudulent voting procedures. What is the message there?
In each case we have failures of various degrees in governance. A strong leader will understand the coming issues of violence and relate the message of peace through words and actions. A strong peaceful leader will allow opposition to their policies in an open format. A strong peaceful leader will see and understand the need for rivals to exist. A strong peaceful leader will have a plan in place to hand over leadership and that plan should be made known.
A strong peaceful leader will have respect for the process of governance. They will have the ability to communicate with wide spread impact, with trust and with courage to face the threats of defeat peacefully. These elements are missing in many of our leaders today. There is a lack of trust that those in power can manage peacefully. There is trust that the current leaders will act violently and they rule by fear not agreement and support.
There comes a time when leaders have to be given weak support with the knowledge that there is no next time. Russia and Putin may have that situation in place now? The people want to see life improve and this has not happened since Putin came into the Kremlin. He may get his wish and be President again due to possible election fraud but he must understand that this should be his last term. This should be his last chance to make improvements. He should not run again. Doing so is a slap in the face to the people of Russia and the process of governance.
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